It is my great pleasure to
write you at this time when God is asking us
to serve the Church with all we are, and I
want to start by thanking you for your prayers, your
letters and the witness of your lives full of the
Gospel spirit.

Within a week we will have the International Youth
and Family Encounter in Atlanta, whose motto this year is,
“Love one another as I have loved you.” God willing,
I will have the pleasure of meeting many of you
there. Naturally, not everyone will have the possibility of participating
in the event, so I would like to offer you
some thoughts regarding the theme of the encounter, which is
charity.

The commandment of love is what sets Christ’s followers apart.
Man is created in the image and likeness of God.
Christ is the image of the Father. And we are
to be living images of Christ. If God is love,
then our life must be love. What a beautiful task
our Lord entrusts to us, to make God present and
real among our brothers and sisters! Not a distant God
of duty for duty’s sake, of fear, but God who
not only loves us but defines himself as Love.

When we
take Mary’s example and ponder and reflect in our hearts
on God’s action in the history of the Legion and
Regnum Christi, we realize with renewed gratitude that love was
the core of their foundational inspiration. From the very first
years our Father Founder drove home to us the importance
of this virtue for every Christian. “Charity is the essence
of Christianity, charity is the badge of the Christian. Therefore,
you must never forget that the mission Christ has entrusted
to us obliges us with the urgent and intrinsic need
to live extensively ourselves and to bring all men to
live the spirit of charity” (March 8, 1948). Indeed, we
know well that there is no true holiness without charity,
charity makes all things possible, and without it our Christian
life loses its worth. Charity has no limits and, as
we see in so many men and women who give

«Charity is the essence of Christianity, charity is the badge of the Christian.»

their lives for the Gospel, it can even lead to
martyrdom, if this is what God asks of us. It
means giving your life out of love.

And in the times
we are living, it is necessary for us to grow
each day in our practice of charity. In his hymn
to charity, Saint Paul reminds us that charity is patient
and kind, it is not arrogant, it never ends (see
1 Cor 13:4-8), and this makes it greater and more
authentic, for every day provides us with many opportunities to
live this commandment, which should be our hallmark. Charity’s own
dynamism also requires that it be passed on through example,
since this virtue is the forfeiture and gift of our
life to our neighbor: “No one has greater love than
this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John
15:13). Our words would be empty if we didn’t give
ourselves in practice: “How does God’s love abide in anyone
who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or
sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let
us love, not in word or speech, but in truth
and action” (1 John 3:17-18).

We know that charity is many-faceted
and has a wide range of nuances. It is enough
to stop and look at the witness of so many
authentic Christians around us to discover and marvel at the
varied and creative forms this virtue can take on. When
you seek the good of your neighbor, your charity is
full of initiative, detail and ingenuity. It does so in
all simplicity. It doesn’t try to trumpet the good it
does, it simply does it, trying to mirror Christ’s love
for mankind. It pays attention to the smallest details, it
is even careful lest a certain joke or a remark
might offend or hurt the other person. It knows the
other person in depth, not to judge him but rather
to become more able to do him as much good
as possible, and avoid whatever might hurt him.

Yet, among the
many manifestations of charity there is one that is required
of a member of Regnum Christi in a special way,
and which I want to spend a little more time
on now. It is the virtue of charity in speech.

How
we need to look after this virtue! It must identify
us, no matter where we are. What does charity in

«Charity has no limits, as we see in so many men and women who give their lives for the Gospel.»

speech consist in? It is practically an unknown term in
our world. The Spanish term our Founder coined “benedicencia” doesn’t
even figure in the dictionary, while the contrary sin, “maledicencia,”
which means slander, does. If slander is the vice of
speaking ill of others, charity in speech means speaking well
of our neighbor. For us, charity in speech is an
apostolate. Overcome evil with good. Charity in speech is a
form of apostolate we can all engage in. It is
a concrete way to go through this world “doing good,”
like our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 10:38), a way to
build and serve the Church.

Slander is a vice that gravely
offends charity, spreading as it does others’ shortcomings, errors or
sins without cause or real need, thus tarnishing their reputation.
No one has the right to hurt another’s good name.
Charity in speech on the other hand seeks to spread
only their good points.

Charity in speech is also contrary to
rash judgment, which accepts as true a moral flaw in
another without sufficient reason to do so. Rash judgments make
us distrust and distance ourselves from our neighbor. This is
the sad reality of those who pigeon-hole or label people,
reading into their acts and interpreting their intentions negatively. It
sows doubt, it is silent as regards a brother’s good
name, it begets worry and malaise, it robs us of
peace. We often judge our neighbor, attributing to him our
own shortcomings. However, a kind heart tries to think well
of others, justify, forgive and understand them. A man of
God keeps in mind his own flaws, not in order
to judge his neighbor but to live humbly and be
an apostle of what is good. Who are we to
judge our neighbor? God alone is judge. And, we well
know, this brings peace to our souls. What a great
gift is peace! “Seek peace, and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15).
Well then, a very good means to attain this gift
that God gives us, peace, is by actively focusing on
all that is good, in both our thoughts and words.

When
we are vested in authority and have responsibility over the
actions of others, we ought always to act in the
service and pursuit of the good, being realistic as regards
evil – not to judge it but rather, as a
doctor, to heal and cure it, even if the remedy
is painful. All we seek is the good of our
neighbor, as Jesus teaches us in the Parable of the
Good Samaritan which we meditated on last Sunday: We bend
over our wounded or fallen brother, gently to bandage him,
lift him onto our lives, and make sure he is
well attended to and cared for with no regard for
what it might cost us, and not dwelling on our
own need for help too.

Thirdly, charity in speech is opposed
to calumny, which our faith teaches is a very grave
sin that unjustly attributes to our neighbor and spreads falsehoods
that damage his good name. Calumny includes defamation and lies,
and so I believe it is one of the sins
that most pains the heart of Christ.

Just as is the
case with the other virtues, charity in speech is not
to be lived on the defensive, trying merely not to
fail, not to criticize; it is a question rather of
fostering a resolutely positive, internal attitude, a habitual good disposition
that will impel us to practice this virtue. Therefore, we
cannot be content with not speaking about our neighbors’ flaws
and errors. In itself, this is already a very good
thing, for, as James the Apostle said, “Anyone who makes
no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the
whole body in check” (James 3:2). From this point of
view, we can never feel justified in speaking badly of
anyone, anyone at all, because it would be the opposite
to what Christ preached with his words and life. But
charity in speech goes farther, it seeks to spread the
good name of others, considering their qualities, pointing out their
virtues, highlighting their achievements and success, praising anything good and
virtuous we discover in them. This virtue thus becomes an

«Our words would be empty if we didn’t give ourselves in practice.»

apostolate since it develops into constructive charity.

As every virtue, charity
in speech demands self-mastery. It does not normally come naturally
and spontaneously. At its source there is another, even deeper
habit – that of always thinking well of our neighbor,
sincerely esteeming him in the depths of our hearts. This
takes watching over our thoughts, fighting especially against prejudice, which
is the source of frequent and persistent strife, taking pains
to be kind, understanding, friendly and courteous, and above all
being loyal, just and sincere in our mutual feelings and
words. Christ was able to be patient with and understand
others. Christ met many sinners, and welcomed them with a
heart full of kindness, not strict justice. He did not
proclaim the errors of sinners but received them with a
heart full of understanding and kindness. What conversions he worked
with a little understanding! Let us reject categorically all feelings
of jealousy, envy, rivalry and resentment. Let there be no
room for any of this in our hearts, for as
Christians we are called to support one another and to
form in Christ’s love a family of brothers and sisters
who are anxious to appreciate, esteem and serve one another.
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if
one member is honored, all rejoice together with it,” says
Saint Paul (1 Cor 12:26).

Christ teaches us that “the good
person out of the good treasure of the heart produces
good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces
evil; for it is out of the abundance of the
heart that the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). The “old self”
of which Saint Paul speaks (see Col 3:9), wounded by
original sin, tends to focus more on other people’s faults
and flaws rather than their virtues and accomplishments. But we
Christians have God’s grace to aid us, his Spirit dwells
in us, and so we have the strength we need
to get over this tendency, fostering always good and positive
thoughts.

Our Father Founder offered some practical advice in his letter
on Gospel charity: “Cultivate the habit of always seeing peoples’
positive side. And even though the evidence is that this
or that person has serious defects, ask yourselves always: what
hidden qualities and virtues does this person possess beyond what
I see?” (October 22, 1993). The good person looks at
everything with kind eyes. In this way, good will conquer
evil, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good” (Rom 12:21). It should be such a strong
habit in our lives that if ever an unwanted remark
were to “slip out,” we should apologize immediately and then
highlight what is good. We must always bear in mind
the directive we learned in the Movement from the first
years of its foundation: “Believe all the good you hear
and only the evil you see, and excuse the latter
internally.” During the final moments of his life and from
his torment on the cross, Jesus our Redeemer also excused

«When you seek the good of your neighbor, your charity is full of initiative, detail and ingenuity. It does so in all simplicity.»

in his heart his executioners and all of us for
whom he was giving his life, “Father, forgive them; for
they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

I
pray to God for his grace for us all, so
that we will continue to strive with all our heart
to live more perfectly and grow in this virtue of
charity in speech, towards acquaintances and strangers, those we like
and those we find it harder to deal with. If
we love only those who love us, what merit is
there in that (see Matt 5:46)? Christ’s invitations in this
regard are very clear on the pages of the Gospel:
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
For with the judgment you make you will be judged,
and the measure you give will be the measure you
get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s
eye, but do not notice the log in your own?”
(Matt 7:1-3). “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire
mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not
the righteous but sinners” (Matt 9:13). “Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, so that you may
be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes
his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous”
(Matt 5:44-45).

Christ’s daily attitude towards each and every man, woman
and child he met made his preaching come very much
alive. Let us imitate Christ in this. People were astounded
at his words: “Never has anyone spoken like this” (John
7:46), and not only because of the truths he proclaimed.
It was also due to the meek and kind heart
from which they came. Look at how sensitively and tactfully
Christ corrects Simon, who had judged negatively Christ and the
woman kneeling at his feet, and how he defends the
sinful woman’s dignity, repentance and gestures of love! When for
example in our family life or work we must say
no or give some bad news or provide a correction
that might hurt somebody, let us do so as charitably
as possible. Let them see that even though it is
a no or a painful remedy, all we want is
their good. You can’t seek the good while using means
that are not based on or justified by charity. Charity
itself and charity in speech are not means to an
end. They are precisely the very end for which we
do all things.

Let us always be the promoters of what
is good, and broadcast the good works that so many
people undertake. Let our words and speech lead others to
a greater appreciation and respect for the Holy Father, bishops,
pastors, priests, other ecclesial movements and realities. Let our words
be an expression of esteem and support for all. A
very clear application is in the area of ecumenism. Dialogue
in truth and love. Cardinal John O’Connor, whom we remember

«Charity in speech is a form of apostolate we can all engage in. It is a concrete way to go through this world

with great admiration, had as his motto while Archbishop of
New York, “There can be no love without justice.” We
must live in justice, but not as the stickler for
justice or the one who coldly applies the law. Justice
is crowned in charity. Let us be what the Gospel
asks us to be: salt of the earth, light of
the world, leaven, through charity (see Matt 5:13-14).

We cannot close
our eyes and say that in the world intrigue, calumny
and slander do not abound. Unfortunately, many conversations are full
of them, becoming almost a hobby. At the same time,
I am sure that Christ is asking each one of
us, as one body, to hold up firmly this flag
and standard of Christianity, being there for and loving everyone
without exception. There are no borders for a Christian. There
is nothing, no race or culture that will keep us
apart in living Christ’s command. Let each and every word
of ours be positive and marked with the sign of
the meek and humble Christ, especially when we are suffering,
in times of trial or in serious difficulty. Let us
strive only to build, putting a stop to anything that
remotely resembles criticism or gossip. Whoever sees us must be
able to say what was said of the first Christians:
See how they love one another.

I think we owe God
thanks for the wonderful climate of charity we live in
Regnum Christi, for it is a clear sign of Christ’s
presence among us. It is also what we see in
so many other movements and groups, for the Holy Spirit
is at work in our Church. We have the responsibility
to know, live, and pass on our charism just as
faithfully as the Legionaries and Regnum Christi members who have
gone before us and are now in the Father’s house.
They were a clear example of what it means to
practice charity in all its nuances.

The Blessed Virgin is an
eloquent example of delicate charity, fruit of her soul being
filled with love for mankind. May she always be close
by our side, knowing she will lead us to the
safe haven. With her we discover the confidence that comes
not from self-sufficiency but rather from the humility and the
joy of knowing that God has asked us to faithfully
reflect his kindness, and he aids us with his grace.

Assuring
you a place in my prayers, I remain your faithful
servant in Christ,